Chapter 4 Chapter Four

Qiao Tai couldn't help but said angrily: "Master, I really don't understand what you want to do, why do you believe that thug Kunshan? Don't listen to that Phoenix Hotel has a poetic name. It is the lair of the treacherous and thieves, let the 'Flying Crane' not ride, and take care of other people's business, will you still visit the scenic spots tomorrow?" Di Gong said calmly: "Don't be impatient. This Phoenix Hotel is certainly not a serious place to go, but you can find out why they are interested in us if you deal with them. If there is a series of conspiracies, then they are exactly the people I am looking for. Now, let’s pretend to be the characters Kun Shan imagined, pretending to be thieves. Take a step back, the situation has changed, and we can also rush out by means, right?"

Qiaotai had no choice but to grin to show his obedience. They walked to the Phoenix Hotel.The hotel is a two-story building with a wooden plank structure, and the house is a little crooked due to its age.Vulgar voices came from the lighted windows. Chotai knocked on the door.The sound inside stopped, the door opened a crack, and a hoarse voice asked, "Who?" "We're here to find the platoon!" Qiaotai shouted loudly. The door squeaked, and a man came out, leading them without a word through the low-slung shop that smelled of stale, musty, and bad wine.In the shop hung an oil lamp emitting black smoke, and the light was dim.The person who opened the door—the bartender of this hotel—went to the counter, turned around, looked sullenly, looked the two guests up and down, and said, "The shopkeeper hasn't come back."

"Let's sit and wait for him." Di Gong said, picking a small table by the window and sitting down. Choatela took a chair and sat opposite Duke Dee.Turning his head, he shouted loudly: "Two glasses of the best wine!" Four gamblers on a table in the corner of the shop looked up at Di Gong and the others, and then buried their heads in betting their money.At the counter stood a flirtatious young woman, who was looking them up and down with a haughty, dissolute look.She was wearing a black skirt with a red silk sash around her waist, and a loose water green light crepe shirt on top, with half of the buttons parted to reveal an apricot red tube top.On her head was a withered red rose.

After taking a closer look, she began to whisper to a young man next to her.A pair of frivolous eyes flashed on the young man's beautiful face.He suddenly pushed the woman away.He turned his head and watched those four people gamble with great interest.Shouting and shouting at the gaming table, wild laughter, cursing and swearing mixed with the sound of dice in the big wooden bowl. The bartender brought two glasses of wine and put them on Di Gong's table. "Six copper coins!" He demanded the money roughly. Duke Di slowly took out four copper coins and put them on the table. "A glass of wine is only worth two copper coins at most." He said softly.

"If you don't want to drink, just leave!" The bartender became even more rude. "You shameless rascal!" Qiao Tai couldn't help but scolded. Di Gong stopped Qiao Tai and took out two more copper coins. The bartender took it and walked away. Suddenly, the young man who was watching gambling started to quarrel with a bald gambler.I saw the young man raised his fist and ran towards the bald man, but before he got close to the bald man's body, he had already been kicked hard by the bald man in the stomach, causing him to stagger and back a few steps.Leaning against the counter panting.

The four gamblers laughed loudly. The woman at the counter screamed, rushed towards the young man, and hurriedly supported him.The young man's face was pale.She grabbed his sleeve and whispered something to him. "Leave me alone! You stinky woman!" He cursed out of breath. The woman wanted to say something, but the young man slapped her across the face.She ran into the counter, covered her face with her sleeve, and burst into tears. The younger generation recovered.Suddenly, he drew a sharp knife from his belt.It was too late to say it, but it was too soon. Seeing this, the bartender grabbed his hand and twisted it lightly, and the knife fell to the ground with a "dang".

"Little rabbit, don't you know that the shopkeeper expressly prohibits the use of knives?" the bartender said coldly. The bald man had already stood up, picked up the knife from the ground, grabbed the young man by the collar and slapped him hard, the young man's face was covered in blood immediately. The bald man said triumphantly: "You are the one who wanted to use the knife today, do you still want to have another knife on the forehead? I don't care about you, you bastard, others will not let you easily!" There were two heavy knocks on the door. "The shopkeeper is back!" Baldy said, and hurried to open the door.

A big black man with thick waist and round legs walked in.His face was large and rough, and the beard on half of his face was unkempt, short and hard, like an old bristle brush.Her hair was wrapped with a piece of cloth, and a short jacket on her upper body exposed the fluffy hair on her chest and the protruding muscles on her arms.He ignored the bald man's greeting and walked towards the counter without looking at the crowd. "Bring me a big bowl, and scoop it from my wine jar!" He ordered the bartender. "I ran into a little trouble outside just now, and almost had an accident! Alas, there are spies sent by the yamen everywhere."

The bartender quickly brought the wine bowl. He picked up the wine bowl and drank it down, smacked his lips, and shouted to the woman: "Don't stand there crying, little thing!" He also ordered the bartender: "Give her a bowl too, it's a pity!" His eyes fell on the young man who was wiping the blood off his face. "Scholar, what's the matter?" "He actually used a knife to me today!" The bald man complained first. The scholar timidly went to the platoon. . The platoon army looked at him contemptuously, sneered, and said, "Using a knife? Well, show me all your solutions and let me see."

The platoon soldier drew a gleaming dagger, and grabbed the scholar by the collar with his left hand. The woman ran out from nowhere and knelt down in front of the platoon. "Spare him! I beg you!" she almost cried. The platoon was stunned for a moment, and let go of his hand.Shaking his shoulders and trying to say something, he suddenly saw two strangers sitting on the table under the window, he quickly pushed the scholar away, threw away the dagger, took a few steps forward, and asked loudly: "God: this long man Who is the beard?" "Passing guests." The scholar said flatteringly, "I've been sitting here for a while."

The platoon approached Duke Di and asked sharply, "Where did you come from?" "We also encountered a little trouble," Di Gong replied, "It was Kunshan who sent us here." The platoon general looked at them suspiciously, pulled up a chair and sat down, and said, "I don't know much about Kunshan. Tell me what trouble you have encountered?" Di Gong replied: "My partner and I are both honest businessmen. We did business honestly along the way. We met a merchant on the mountain road this morning, and we said a few auspicious words to him. He He smiled and handed out ten taels of silver to us, and then lay down on the side of the road to rest. We were just about to enter the city with the silver, but the merchant woke up, changed his mind, lost his temper, and ran into the yamen He sued us for stealing his money. The yamen sent people to arrest us. Kun Shan found out and brought us here. It was just a small misunderstanding, and the merchant was only to blame for waking up too early." This is a jargon among robbers. The translation is: They robbed a merchant on the mountain road for ten taels of silver, and knocked the merchant to the ground.They were just about to leave when the merchant woke up. The platoon of soldiers listened and grinned.Then he asked suspiciously: "Why do you have a big beard and speak like a teacher in a private school?" Qiao Tai hurriedly replied: "The reason for growing a beard is to please his Shangfeng. Mr. Shen used to work in the yamen, but because of a misunderstanding about money, he had to resign early. Shopkeeper, didn't you also work in the courtroom before?" Fan, this kind of cross-examination is tight!" "These few words must be asked clearly." The boss of the platoon army said unhappily, "I tell you, I have never worked in the yamen. I am a serious officer. , is the ninth grade, known as Liu Paijun. You should remember it carefully. Oh, is Kunshan your old acquaintance?" "No," Duke Di replied, "we saw him for the first time today, and he happened to be there when the Yali sent people to arrest us." The platoon turned around and ordered: "Bring the wine quickly! I want to have a good talk with these two gentlemen." In response, the bartender moved over to a wine jar, brought out several dishes, and smiled with Di Gong. "Where did you hang out before?" the platoon army asked. "In Penglai." Di Gong said. "But we don't want to be there anymore." "It makes sense!" the platoon army grinned loudly, "I heard that the new county magistrate Di is very powerful. That man was so cruel that he killed a friend of mine just a few days ago!" "So we were in a hurry to get out of there. We used to hang out with the butcher, and live in his inn not far from the north gate." The platoon soldier slammed on the table with his big fist. "Why didn't you say it earlier? That bastard Kunshan can't compare with the butcher. The butcher is an upright guy, but he has a bad temper, and he will use a knife at every turn. I told him hundreds of times, is it right to use a knife?" Good result. But he just..." The butcher killed people in Penglai.Di Gong beheaded him when he left Penglai seven days ago. "Then, is Kun Shan a brother of your guild?" Duke Di asked. "No, he's a one-legged toad, and trades all by himself. He's good at it, but he's a villain after all. I'm glad you're friends with the butcher. Go and throw a penny in a silver pot, This is our new brother from now on." Di Gong took out a consistent amount of money from his sleeve, and Qiao Tai also took out a consistent amount of money.The platoon army picked it up and asked the bald man to put it in the silver jar. Di Gong said: "We plan to stay here for a while, and leave when the wind calms down." "It's not busy, you just stay here, that's it. Oh, I forgot to introduce you," he shouted to the woman, "Yanxiang, come here and meet these two guests." The woman walked to the table in response. "This is our housekeeper, named Yanxiang. That bald man is my best partner. The two of us never share the money. Even this Yanxiang is shared. I have more than 70 brothers under my command. , is also a nuisance, they have to come here to settle the bill every other night. There are no literate people here, so I have to count with vertical strokes. The scholar can help with this, but others can't Agreed, everyone doesn't believe him. I think you're just right for the job, you'll take half of the profit, and you don't have to hand over the money you get yourself—what's the deal?" "The money is not bad. It's just that I like to walk around freely. I want to be happy and well-informed. Shopkeeper Liu, have you heard that another murder happened here?" The platoon pushed Yanxiang away, and asked nervously, "You mean murder? What happened?" "I heard on the street that the wife of a rich family was killed and her body was thrown in the swamp outside the north gate. Although my partner and I did some things, we never killed people. Every time you kill someone, you always get Big trouble, you know that killing is the last thing I will tolerate." "Baldy!" the platoon roared. "A woman has been murdered. It is said to be nearby. Why didn't you report it to me? Who did it?" "Brother, I swear, I don't know anything about this murder, and I haven't heard anyone say it." Duke Dee suggested: "I'll go there to see if it's true or not. Send me a brother to take me there from a quiet street. Don't forget that I have done arrests, and I am also an expert in dead bodies; maybe I can help you." You find out who committed the crime." The platoon soldier rested his wrinkled forehead in his hands, and looked sullenly at the wine glass in front of him.After hesitating for a while, he raised his head and said, "Okay, you can take Xiucai there. ——Hey, Xiucai, you go for a walk with Beard Brother!" Di Gong turned to Qiaotai and said, "Man, you'd better stay here. If we go out together, it may cause trouble." Qiaotai hummed angrily, picked up the wine jar and poured wine into his glass.